Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2026)

[Angrioter]

19 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Do we want Nick Castellanos for cheap?

Phillies just released him 

Is he any better than our internal options for COF?

Nick Castellanos brought beer into Phillies dugout during Miami benching incident

[max silver]

47 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Do we want Nick Castellanos for cheap?

Phillies just released him 

Is he any better than our internal options for COF?

I don't see much of a role for him on the Blue Jays. He's a butcher in the field and with Springer firmly entrenched as the primary DH there just isn't much of an avenue to playing time.

[Orgfiller]

1 hour ago, G-Snarls said:

Do we want Nick Castellanos for cheap?

Phillies just released him 

Is he any better than our internal options for COF?

A below average hitter at DH isn't really the solution to our offensive woes. And you'll be sorry you ever considered him in the outfield if you ever see him out there.

Could be a decent pinch hitter against lefties off the bench I guess? You can't even platoon him at DH since the other guy is Springer who is also right handed and much better.

[philly30]

1 hour ago, G-Snarls said:

Do we want Nick Castellanos for cheap?

Phillies just released him 

Is he any better than our internal options for COF?

NO, NO, NO

[G-Snarls]

Yeah

Someone else can take him 

[jaysblue]

3 hours ago, G-Snarls said:

Do we want Nick Castellanos for cheap?

Phillies just released him 

Is he any better than our internal options for COF?

[Jonn]

Castellanos is complete dog s*** as a hitter and he's even worse as a Defender. Would be a literal downgrade over what we already have. Would genuinely prefer to see Jonatan Clase get a chance over him and I'm not confident Clase is a Major League player.

[Jonn]

4 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

Berríos apologized to Blue Jays for leaving during WS: 'Bad decision'

https://thescore.com/mlb/news/3477604

All Puerto Ricans are divas.

[jaysblue]

Don't forget, Jays also have Eloy Jiménez. 

Still only 29 and he's had some solid years offensively. Hit 31 HR's in 2019 and had a 138 wRC+ in 2020 and 143+ season in 2022. Maybe Jays catch lightning in a bottle with him. 

[Omar]

https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects

12. Trey Yesavage p

45. Jojo Parker ss

77. Arjun  Nimmala ss

....that's it.  

[Jays24]

22 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Don't forget, Jays also have Eloy Jiménez. 

Still only 29 and he's had some solid years offensively. Hit 31 HR's in 2019 and had a 138 wRC+ in 2020 and 143+ season in 2022. Maybe Jays catch lightning in a bottle with him. 

Im trying to think of the last minor league contract that made a substantial difference from the hitting side.  Any idea who?

[max silver]

37 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Don't forget, Jays also have Eloy Jiménez. 

Still only 29 and he's had some solid years offensively. Hit 31 HR's in 2019 and had a 138 wRC+ in 2020 and 143+ season in 2022. Maybe Jays catch lightning in a bottle with him. 

This one actually has me a little bit intrigued. Word is that Jiminez has improved his body a ton (although who reportedly hasn't at this early stage of spring training), and the idea of this guy working with Popkins to iron out the rough edges a little makes me wonder if there's a little potential in his bat. He still possessed a much faster than average bat speed in 2024 so there could still be some thunder in this bat. The Blue Jays high performance department has also been rather successful with allowing previously injury ridden guys like Springer and Kiermaier remain on the field more frequently as they are very effective at load management for the players that require a little more time off.

Having said all of that Jiminez has been one of the larger top prospect disappointments in recent memory so it's also entirely possible he's pretty much cooked as an effective major league player. 

[Spanky__99]

5 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Don't forget, Jays also have Eloy Jiménez. 

Still only 29 and he's had some solid years offensively. Hit 31 HR's in 2019 and had a 138 wRC+ in 2020 and 143+ season in 2022. Maybe Jays catch lightning in a bottle with him. 

Your boy Eloy, lol. 🙄

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, Jays24 said:

Im trying to think of the last minor league contract that made a substantial difference from the hitting side.  Any idea who?

Like with the Jays or in general?

[Laika]

10 hours ago, Jays24 said:

Im trying to think of the last minor league contract that made a substantial difference from the hitting side.  Any idea who?

Ernie Clement lol

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, max silver said:

This one actually has me a little bit intrigued. Word is that Jiminez has improved his body a ton (although who reportedly hasn't at this early stage of spring training), and the idea of this guy working with Popkins to iron out the rough edges a little makes me wonder if there's a little potential in his bat. He still possessed a much faster than average bat speed in 2024 so there could still be some thunder in this bat. The Blue Jays high performance department has also been rather successful with allowing previously injury ridden guys like Springer and Kiermaier remain on the field more frequently as they are very effective at load management for the players that require a little more time off.

Having said all of that Jiminez has been one of the larger top prospect disappointments in recent memory so it's also entirely possible he's pretty much cooked as an effective major league player. 

Yeah agreed, definitely Eloy becomes more intriguing now. 

Working with Popkins is interesting too. If he could clean his approach, there still could be a version of him that runs into 25+ HR power in a semi-regular role. The Jays’ high-performance team could also help keep him healthier with smarter load management.

With Santander down, there’s a real opportunity here for Eloy and I’d rather bet on Eloy’s upside than scrape the bottom of the current FA outfield market. The bat speed is still legit, and if the Jays can clean up the approach and keep him healthy, there’s legitimate middle-order thunder in there.

Given the alternatives available, I’d absolutely take Jiménez’s offensive ceiling over any replacement-level veteran stopgap.

[jaysblue]

2 minutes ago, Laika said:

Ernie Clement lol

He asked if anyone made a difference from the hitting side...

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, Jays24 said:

Im trying to think of the last minor league contract that made a substantial difference from the hitting side.  Any idea who?

José Bautista was acquired via trade, but at that point he was essentially a 28-year-old utility player. He hadn’t come close to the offensive upside or prospect pedigree that Eloy Jiménez once carried.

As for other non-Jays:

- J.D. Martinez with the Tigers.

- Justin Turner with the Dodgers.

- Nelson Cruz with the Rangers.

- Max Muncy with the Dodgers. 

Most of these guys weren’t “washed” - they were miscast, injured, or needed swing/approach tweaks.

Not saying Eloy turns into prime Bautista 2.0 - but teams with strong hitting infrastructure absolutely have a track record of unlocking bats that looked “done.”

 

[R.O.]

 

[JaysFan99]

Not sure I understand the reasoning behind that trade

[R.O.]

 

 

 

 

[The_DH]

15 hours ago, Jonn said:

All Puerto Ricans are divas.

Smart business move.

[Spanky__99]

2 hours ago, jaysblue said:

He asked if anyone made a difference from the hitting side...

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, Spanky__99 said:

I guess you have a thing for sub 100 wRC+ bats.

[Brownie19]

3 hours ago, JaysFan99 said:

Not sure I understand the reasoning behind that trade

What don't you understand?  

[Brownie19]

17 hours ago, Jonn said:

All Puerto Ricans are divas.

That's a bold and completely unnecessary thing to say.  You see the Bad Bunny show last weekend?  It was en fuego

[Jonn]

2 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

That's a bold and completely unnecessary thing to say.  You see the Bad Bunny show last weekend?  It was en fuego

I missed that one unfortunately. But glad you had a good time!

[Jonn]

3 hours ago, R.O. said:

 

 

 

 

Re-acquires Loperfido. Says he wasn't one of their main targets is an interesting thing to say. It's an honest thing to say but probably something you don't say in the media lol.

It sounds like Astros fans are happy just to have shed Sanchez's contract. Kinda surprised the Blue Jays didn't get any money in the deal.

[Brownie19]

10 minutes ago, Jonn said:

I missed that one unfortunately. But glad you had a good time!

I'm not surprised.  Too busy supporting goat f*ckers.

[Spanky__99]

3 hours ago, jaysblue said:

José Bautista was acquired via trade, but at that point he was essentially a 28-year-old utility player. He hadn’t come close to the offensive upside or prospect pedigree that Eloy Jiménez once carried.

As for other non-Jays:

- J.D. Martinez with the Tigers.

- Justin Turner with the Dodgers.

- Nelson Cruz with the Rangers.

- Max Muncy with the Dodgers. 

Most of these guys weren’t “washed” - they were miscast, injured, or needed swing/approach tweaks.

Not saying Eloy turns into prime Bautista 2.0 - but teams with strong hitting infrastructure absolutely have a track record of unlocking bats that looked “done.”

 

All those guys were on Minor League contracts?